Kamen Rider V3
, is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the second installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series, and the direct sequel to the original ''Kamen Rider. It was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and was shown on NET from February 17, 1973 to February 9, 1974, with a total of 52 episodes. This is also the first (and only) Kamen Rider TV series that is officially available on DVD in the west with English subtitles through JN Productions' Generation Kikaida. Every episode of Kamen Rider V3 begins with a statement: "Kamen Rider V3, Shiro Kazami, is an altered human. Mortally wounded by Destron, he is rebuilt by Kamen Riders 1 and 2, reborn as Kamen Rider V3.". Hiroshi Miyauchi, who portrays main character Shiro Kazami, also sings the opening theme. Following the success of V3, Miyauchi starred in several tokusatsu series, such as , , Kaiketsu Zubat, , , and . Story One night, Shiro Kazami accidentally witnesses a murder by the evil organization Destron, making him their next target. In their first attempt, they planted a bomb pebble into his coffee, but the attempt was foiled when Shiro's sister, Yukiko, surprised him, causing him to spill his coffee. In their second attempt, they attacked him while practicing motorcycle racing with Tobei Tachibana. In their third attempt, a Destron soldier, disguised as a doctor, tried to put a poison shot in Shiro, while he was being transported to the hospital (after Destron's second attempt), but Shiro regains consciousness and kills the soldier. Meanwhile, a young woman named Junko Tama stumbled upon Destron's base. Suddenly, she was attacked by Destron. While trying to escape, she ran into Shiro, who was heading home on his motorcycle, but Shiro didn't see the Destron soldiers. Surprised, Junko fainted and Shiro took her home. While Junko was being taken care of by Shiro's family, Shiro reported her story to the police. When he returned home, he found his family being murdered by the Hasami Jaguar, a jaguar monster with blades for hands. Hasami Jaguar then prepares to kill Junko and Shiro, but is stopped by Shiro's high school teacher, Takeshi Hongo, who transformed into Kamen Rider 1. Shortly after he drove off the Destron forces, Kamen Rider 2 shows up, but too late. A vengeance-fueled Shiro asked the Riders to turn him into a cyborg, but the Riders refused, explaining to Shiro what would happen if he did get turned into a cyborg: he wouldn't be able to live up to his family. Then the Riders asked Junko for the location of the Destron base she stumbled upon earlier. The next day, the Riders infiltrate the base, only to get caught in a trap. Shiro shows up and saves their lives, but gets injured in the process. The Riders had no choice but to turn Shiro into a cyborg. When the Riders were attacked, and almost killed, by Kame Bazooka, Shiro shows up as Kamen Rider V3. Now, Shiro uses his new power to protect mankind against Destron. Characters Kamen Riders TV Show Manga-exclusive Allies *Tōbei Tachibana *Junko Tama *Shigeru Tama *The Boys' Kamen Rider Squad *Ken Sakuma Villains Destron *Great Leader of Destron *Doktor G / Kani Laser (13-30) *Baron Kiba / Vampiric Mammoth (31-35) *Archbishop Tsubasa / Zombie Bat (36-40) *Marshal Armor / Zariganna (41-52) * Revived Villains ** Colonel Zol ** Doctor Shinigami ** Ambassador Hell ** General Black Episodes Other media Manga # # # # # # S.I.C. Hero Saga #Riderman Another After'' Magazine Story #'' '' (仮面ライダーV３たいスパイダーマン'' Kamen Raidā Buisurī tai Supaidāman)'' Cast * : * : * : * : * : (Played as ) * : * : * : * : * : * : * : Suit actors *Kamen Rider V3 (main), Kamen Rider #1: Tetsuya Nakayashiki *Kamen Rider V3 (episodes 1 & 2 only), Riderman (stunts): Hiroshi Nakamura *Riderman: Takehisa Yamaguchi *Riderman (stunts): Hiroo Kawarazaki *Riderman (stunts): Keisuke Chiyoda *Kamen Rider #1, Riderman (stunts), Monsters: Kazuo Niibori *Monsters (Squid Fire et al.): Masaru Okada Songs ;Opening theme * **Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori **Composer: Shunsuke Kikuchi **Vocals: Hiroshi Miyauchi and ;Ending themes : * **Lyrics: **Composer: Shunsuke Kikuchi **Vocals: Ichirou Mizuki and the **Episodes: 1-42 * **Lyrics: **Composer: Shunsuke Kikuchi **Vocals: Masato Shimon and the Columbia Yurikago-Kai **Episodes: 43-52 Other Songs *V3 No Hitori Uta *V3 No Komori Uta *V3 No March *V3 Action *Destron Sanka *Fujimi No Otoko *Boku-Ra No Kamen Rider V3 *Bokura no Riderman *Kamen Rider Sanka External links *'' '' at *[http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/仮面ライダーV3 Kamen Rider V3] at Japanese Wikipedia *Generation Kikaida Hawaii Online Store (English) *Kamen Rider V3 2011 Online Fan Community Page (English) Category:Kamen Rider Series Category:Showa Era